Projects / Programmes
Application of waste polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) in the coatings and synthetic resins industry
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.04.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Materials science and technology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T390 |
Technological sciences |
Polymer technology, biopolymers |
polyethylene terephthalate, recycling, depolymerization, resins
Researchers (4)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
17162 |
PhD Andrej Kržan |
Materials science and technology |
Head |
2004 - 2007 |
342 |
| 2. |
11733 |
PhD Matjaž Kunaver |
Materials science and technology |
Researcher |
2004 - 2007 |
339 |
| 3. |
15792 |
PhD Ida Mav Golež |
Chemistry |
Researcher |
2004 - 2007 |
38 |
| 4. |
17270 |
Polona Prosen |
|
Technical associate |
2004 - 2007 |
2 |
Organisations (1)
| no. |
Code |
Research organisation |
City |
Registration number |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
0104 |
National Institute of Chemistry |
Ljubljana |
5051592000 |
20,996 |
Abstract
Slovenia is in the process of establishing a plastic waste packaging collection system. Among this waste polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) is an important fraction for which there are currently no domestic uses and therefore it is exported. PET is a condensation polymer that can be depolymerized with polyols. The degradation products can then be used as feedstocks for the production of new polymer materials.
In the proposed project we plan to study the depolymerization of PET as well as the synthetic routes for using the degradation products in the preparation of resins for the coatings industry and synthetic resin industry (alkyd resins, unsaturated polyester resins, resins for powder coatings). The methods will be developed to the pilot scale that will be prepared for further upscaling to the industrial level using existing technological equipment. The project will be co-funded by an established Slovenian coatings and synthetic resin producer. The results are expected to be interesting from the cost point of view since we will use a recycled material. In addition we expect to improve the quality in certain product segments, due to the use of terephthalic acid from PET that yields better results than the commonly used isophthalic acid. Finally, the results of the project will allow a better use of waste plastics and through that to lowering of the environmental burden. The successfully finished project will contribute to a more sustainable development of the Slovenian chemical industry.
